"A Life Changed"

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Month: October 2016

I’ve been using this tag on social media for quite a while now and I still appreciate the value it adds to my life and to the lives of others.

#MakingMilesAndMomentsCountobviously refers to my running, but it involved more than just running, it represents the whole “package” if you will; races, places, people, medals. It is about getting there, the people you meet, the event itself, the medal. There is always a story to tell after every race we do and these are the memories, the miles and moments we get to remember. I also love taking pictures and sometimes going through the pictures it fires up lost memories and rekindle stories almost forgotten.

[ Click on the images below to enlarge ]

Toronto Waterfreont Marathon

#STWM2015 done

My medal

Today, a year ago, I was in Toronto Canada for the ScotiaBank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and this morning when I went through my photos to put together a Tweet to all runners, to wish them well, it brought back so many memories. The interesting things about going through these pics don’t just bring back memories about the marathon, but also about days preceding the race, the days before, on and after the race. I remember so many wonderful moments with new friend I’ve made, places I have seen and the city of Toronto I got to explore by myself for three days. My pictures tell a story of so many wonderful moments. For me also to get to share this event with my friends Karen and Chris, who for the first time attended a marathon event like this and because I was there and I was part of this, they also got to make memories of their own. This to me is what it is about.

In a few weeks I will jet off to Athens Greece. I won a trip for two, a competition run by Discovery Vitality during the Rio Olympics, and the prize, a trip for two to Athens Greece. Winning this prize opened the door to new opportunities to go and gather more memories. When I started to plan for this trip and was busy on Google and searched for races in Greece and I discovered that the Athens Authentic Marathon was coming up in November and better even, entries were still open. I was entered for this race even before we had any flights and or accommodation booked and confirmed. I just had to do this. So this means that Pieter and I will be in Athens for the 34th Annual “Athens Marathon. The Authentic” which will take place on November 13th, 2016 – marking 120 years from the first contemporary Marathon race, an event inspired by the ancient course of the legendary Athenian soldier hemerodromos (courier in Ancient Greece who would run for a day) after the Battle of Marathon. This will definitely be another awesome #MakingMilesAndMomentsCount opportunity.

I guess what I am trying to say is that we have to live life to the fullest, savour every moment and make every moment count. Today is all we have and it the gateway to tomorrow; make the most of it. And yes, if you can, take pictures, lot of pictures. These become so important later; when we go through them they trigger so many memories.

This morning I ran the Chamberlains Capital Classic Half-Marathon. I have to admit, when that alarm went off this morning I was not happy and not in the mood to get up, but nevertheless, I have entered so the rule then is, get there and line up. Just do it!

I once again realised how incredibly important the bond between running friends are. There’s a really close bond between you and your running buddies. Kilometre after kilometre you run side by side, sometimes chatting and other times in total silence. Hearing each other’s breathing is often all the conversation you need. Running buddies are willing to go the distance, understanding one another on a different level. I think there are clear differences between a running buddy and your non-running friends.

When we are on the road, and off, we are often more than just soles running next to one another, we push one another, motivate one another and support one another through all the various ups and downs running often present us with. Our regular friends don’t always understand the ‘running addiction’ as runners are so often accused of having, but our running mates understand all too well. They understand the need, the desire, and the passion to run. Running buddies just get the addiction.

With that said, I also think our “regular” friends will always support us no matter how many kilometres we log, but might not always understand why we do what we do, and that is okay.

When we lace up and start that race, we as runners become one, one with one another, one with the rest of the athletes and one with the road, one with nature.

My friend Christo always try to do our races together and this morning while we were working our way through those challenging hills all I needed was to hear his breathing next to me – that was enough conversation. We always try to mask the challenge with a little fun. On the first lap Christo’s dad joined us for the 10km and on the second lap another friend, Naomi, joined us and stuck with us to the very end. The thing with running a pace run is to make sure that you try and incorporate and accommodate the needs and running styles of everyone in the group and this is exactly what I did and by doing that we continued as “one” and finished as “one”. I once again realised what a blessing it is to be able to hit the road with running friends.

As a last thought, it is also not always just about running together, that social time before and after every race is special and should not be taken for granted. Those are special moments and the building blocks of great relationships between running friends.

I once again realised this morning how blessed I am to know so many awesome people on the road. I appreciate each and every one of you. We share an “addiction” for running: we run together, sweat together, suffer together but we also triumph together.

I close with the words from Christopher McDougall’sbook, “Born to run”,

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

In the beginning of September I was informed by Discovery Vitality that I was the winner of the competition they run during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the prize, a trip for two to Athens, Greece. The prize includes flights, accommodation for six nights, seven days, transfers and a full day city tour including a visit to The Panathenaic Stadium also known as Kallimarmaro.

So, right now, excitement is building as I count down the days to 9 November 2016 when I will jet off to Athens, Greece for this amazing trip. I have decided to also extend my time in Greece with a few days and will only return on the 26th of November 2016.

Like a typical runner, when I started to look at possible dates of travel I consulted “Doctor Google” for some help in this regard and saw that the Athens Authentic Marathon will happen in 13th of November 2016. Needless to say, even before my dates for the trip were confirmed I was entered for the marathon. Pieter and I will run this very iconic marathon between Marathon and Athens on the 13th of November 2016 in the colors of TeamVitality. We are so excited about this. We will run this race with tired legs because the week before we will be in Nelspruit for the Kaapsehoop Marathon, but hey, maybe this will force us to hold back and take in all aspects of the Athens run. Many runners describe The Athens Marathon as the ultimate Marathon experience; recreating each year the incredible run that started it all 2,500 years ago. This year we will be part of this amazing experience.

During my trip I will definitely keep everyone updated and you will be able to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

As a last thought, during the Cape Town marathon two weeks ago I managed to qualify for Comrades so that one is also ticked off the list. Now I can just hope for a better seeding sometime, somewhere. Kaapsehoop is a good opportunity for that, but will see what happens there on 5 November 2016. During Cape Town marathon I was once again reminded of two realities of running. Firstly, you should always run your own race, and secondly, race day will look after itself; you can be well prepared and in top form and have a terrible run and you can be uncertain and in doubt and not so prepared and have a great day on the road.

Friends, I will touch base with you all again soon. In the meanwhile, be inspired to live your best possible life and make every moment count and have no regrets !